AI Tool Writes Real Estate Descriptions Without Ever Stepping Inside a Home (cnn.com) 32
A Canadian startup called Listing AI is using AI to quickly churn out computer-generated descriptions of real estate. All users need to do is give it some details about the home, and the AI does the rest. CNN reports: "L O V E L Y Oakland!" the house description began. It went on to give a slew of details about the 1,484 square-foot home -- light-filled, charming, Mediterranean-style, with a yard that "boasts lush front landscaping" -- and finished by describing the "cozy fireplace" and "rustic-chic" pressed tin ceiling in the living room. The results still need work: The real-life Oakland, California, home that fits with the above description (which my family is currently selling) actually has a pressed tin ceiling in the dining room, rather than the living room, for instance. The descriptions Listing AI created for me are not nearly as specific or well-written as the one crafted by our (human) realtor. And I had to provide the website with a lot of information about different rooms and features of the house and the outdoor landscaping -- a process that felt a bit like real-estate Mad Libs -- before the website was able to come up with several different descriptions.
But the general coherence of the descriptions that Listing AI proposed within seconds of my submission provides yet another sign that AI is getting better at a task that was traditionally seen as uniquely human -- and shows how people may be able to work with the technology, rather than fearing it may replace us. It probably won't do all the work of writing a house description for you, but according to Listing AI co-founder Mustafa Al-Hayali, that's not the point. He hopes it will complete about 80% to 90% of the work for coming up with a home description, which may be completed by a realtor or a copy writer. "I don't believe it's meant to replace a person when it comes to completing a task, but it's supposed to make their job a whole lot easier," Al-Hayali told CNN Business. "It can generate ideas you can use." The information used in the app is processed by GPT-3, an AI model from nonprofit research company OpenAI. According to MIT Technology Review, GPT-3 could herald a new type of search engine.
But the general coherence of the descriptions that Listing AI proposed within seconds of my submission provides yet another sign that AI is getting better at a task that was traditionally seen as uniquely human -- and shows how people may be able to work with the technology, rather than fearing it may replace us. It probably won't do all the work of writing a house description for you, but according to Listing AI co-founder Mustafa Al-Hayali, that's not the point. He hopes it will complete about 80% to 90% of the work for coming up with a home description, which may be completed by a realtor or a copy writer. "I don't believe it's meant to replace a person when it comes to completing a task, but it's supposed to make their job a whole lot easier," Al-Hayali told CNN Business. "It can generate ideas you can use." The information used in the app is processed by GPT-3, an AI model from nonprofit research company OpenAI. According to MIT Technology Review, GPT-3 could herald a new type of search engine.
So, what?! (Score:5, Funny)
Re: So, what?! (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Is it really AI? (Score:3)
If someone has to put in 'pressed tin ceiling' or 'Mediterranean style', is this really AI or more a hunt and search using previously input references to come up with something approaching coherence?
I mean, if a human is doing 90% of the work, how is this AI?
Re: (Score:2)
I don't know that a real estate listing generator needs to be any more sophisticated than poetry generators and similar simple programs we used to see in BASIC type-in books.
Those were essentially "mad libs", just filling in random sentences. I see no reason that this would need to be any more complicated.
Re: (Score:2)
There is no "AI" at this time. This is just some clever "Eliza" type approach, i.e. document templates om steroids.
Re: (Score:2)
AI? (Score:5, Insightful)
print "Has to be viewed at the earliest opportunity"
if (floor_area_sq_ft less than 1000) then
print "Perfect for first time buyers or investors"
if (distance_to_motorway_miles less than 10) then
print "Ideal for commuters"
else
print "Idyllic location"
Hmm.. doesn't need AI.
Re: (Score:2)
A friend of mine in the US military, stationed in Germany, had an interesting "AI Real Estate" experience.
He was looking for an apartment, found one he liked, and asked about the price of the rent. The real estate agent asked:
"What's your rank?"
The agent knew exactly how much the housing allowance was for every rank, and adjusted the rent price accordingly.
Re: (Score:2)
A friend of mine in the US military, stationed in Germany, had an interesting "AI Real Estate" experience.
He was looking for an apartment, found one he liked, and asked about the price of the rent. The real estate agent asked:
"What's your rank?"
The agent knew exactly how much the housing allowance was for every rank, and adjusted the rent price accordingly.
Which is why you give one a few paygrades lower.
Re: (Score:2)
A friend of mine in the US military, stationed in Germany, had an interesting "AI Real Estate" experience.
He was looking for an apartment, found one he liked, and asked about the price of the rent. The real estate agent asked:
"What's your rank?"
Wait, if it was in Germany wouldn't it be "Vot iss your name, rank, and serial number?".
This 3br 2ba home is perfect for- hold the fort... (Score:2)
All fluff (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
It's a form of "astro-turfing". And it is popular.
so it's about as accurate (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Given that there are a lot of fast charging standards in existence, some of which go back to USB 2, and most of which are different in important ways, exactly what are you expecting "Fast Charging USB C" to mean?
If you want a cable that supports USB C Power Delivery, or Qualcomm's Quick Charge, or Samsung's Adaptive Fast Charging, or some specific implementation, search for that -- not "fast charging". Simple "fast charging" doesn't have a specific meaning, so it's like "must see" or "great location" in a
Re: (Score:3)
and truthfufl as a realtor,
You mean it really isn't just "the perfect fixer-upper" in an "up and coming neighborhood" that's "waiting for the perfect owner to give it the love it needs..."?
Re: (Score:1)
"deceptively spacious and close to transport links"
It's a shoebox you couldn't swing a cat in the dead zone where the freeway crosses over the railroad.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
I emailed an inquiry to press@openai.com. Because of the supposedly exclusive license Microsoft purchased for GPT-3, and the text on OpenAI's website stating they're doing the beta for academic partners, and the clear commercial nature of ListingAI, which claims to use their services, this has a direct impact on MSFT shareholders, and the SEC should also be looking into this.
False Advertising (Score:3)
From the FTC web site (here [ftc.gov]):-
"Advertising must tell the truth and not mislead consumers.
In addition, claims must be substantiated."
The part of that which interests me would be the question: How are you as the realtor going to be able to substantiate the claims in some form of ML-based description of a property that hasn't been viewed by the c
Relative strengths and advantage (Score:3)
This is the key, to me:
according to Listing AI co-founder Mustafa Al-Hayali, that's not the point. He hopes it will complete about 80% to 90% of the work for coming up with a home description, which may be completed by a realtor or a copy writer. "I don't believe it's meant to replace a person when it comes to completing a task, but it's supposed to make their job a whole lot easier," Al-Hayali told CNN Business. "It can generate ideas you can use."
AI is very useful for some tasks, not so good at others. In this case, it can be very useful for doing the initial drudge work of filling out a basic description of a property, saving a realtor time and letting them focus on what they are good at, which is crafting a listing that piques potential buyer's interest so they look at the property. For example, AI can identify details but someone with specific knowledge about what buyers in that market / price range want is needed to tailor the output.
Right now, AI is very good at sorting through large amounts of data, making correlations and presenting results, assuming the algorithms are well written. Humans are better at interpreting the results in ways other humans will understand and find interesting. In addition, humans could spot inherent biases in the programming that needs to be corrected to yield better results; although I suspect "the computer said so so it must be valid or right" syndrome will apply.
As someone who bought a house last year ... (Score:4, Funny)
As someone who bought a house last year ... I can say that the bar is not high, lol.
On the one hand, AI could hardly do worse. OTOH, a random text generator from 1989 could probably do as well.
Re: (Score:2)